Week 1 — Readings & Resources

Your primary reading is Chapter 1 (in this module). Everything below is the optional, go-deeper layer — pick what helps, skip the rest.

How to use this page

This page has 9 items (3 readings and 6 videos). Allow 72–80 minutes for everything. Each group points back to the matching chapter section and class-session segment, so use the full menu when you want more, or take the quick path below.

Every video here has captions: turn them on with the CC button in the player. The chapter covers the same ideas in text.

Pick-one quick path (18–20 min total)

• Managing Fear — Toastmasters International
• Four Types of Speech Delivery — Bia Bernum
• Surviving Your First Ice Breaker — Toastmasters Magazine

① How a message travels, and where it gets lost

Chapter 1, Section “The six-element model: map where the meaning travels” · Session 1, Segment 2, “The six-element model” · Remember: source, message, channel, receiver, noise, and feedback are the six labels, and in the transactional picture everyone sends and receives at once.

• Transmission Model of Communication — Stephen Klien — a slide-illustrated walk through the one-way model the course calls the linear model, with its source, channel, receiver, and noise; as you watch, match each part to the lobby announcement from the chapter. (video, 12 min) (captions: automatic)
• The Transactional Model of Communication — Stephen Klien — the last part of the same series, contrasting the one-way and feedback models with the transactional picture this course lands on; stop here before listening and audience analysis, which next week takes up. (video, 16 min) (captions: automatic)

② Honest speaking: credit what is not yours

Chapter 1, Section “Ethical speaking: be honest, be prepared, and name your sources out loud” · Session 2, Segment 4, “Speaking ethics” · Remember: plagiarism hides where real words came from, and fabrication invents words that never existed, so credit sources out loud and check that they are real.

• Plagiarism — Writing Center Tips & Tools — a handout written for papers, with sections on paraphrasing, common knowledge, and keeping track of sources; read it with a speech in mind, since in this course the credit has to be said out loud. (reading, 10–14 min)

③ Nerves are normal

Chapter 1, Section “Communication apprehension: treat nerves as normal and use them” · Session 2, Segment 5, “Nerves and what helps” · Remember: speaking nerves are common and manageable, and a strategy such as practicing out loud gives the nerves a job.

• Managing Fear — Toastmasters International — a short look at what stage fright does to the body and how speakers keep it under control; pick one idea from it to add to the two strategies you choose from the chapter. (video, 4 min) (captions: automatic)
• 5 Public Speaking Tips to Speak with Confidence — Toastmasters International — an experienced contest speaker's practical tips for preparing a class or work presentation while nervous; listen for which tips match the chapter's list of evidence-informed strategies. (video, 7 min) (captions: creator)

④ Your first speech, delivered from notes

Chapter 1, Section “The icebreaker and the rehearsal loop: plan four beats, then practice on purpose” · Session 2, Segment 6, “The icebreaker and the rehearsal loop” · Remember: plan the icebreaker as four beats in keywords, practice it aloud, and deliver it extemporaneously rather than memorized.

• Surviving Your First Ice Breaker — Toastmasters Magazine — a short, encouraging article on a first speech about yourself: pick a personal story, plan with an outline or cards, and rehearse until it sounds natural; use it while you work through the Week-1 module overview. (reading, 6–8 min)
• Four Types of Speech Delivery — Bia Bernum — memorized, manuscript, extemporaneous, and impromptu delivery, with when each one fits; the chapter previews the same four methods and names extemporaneous as this course's target. (video, 8 min) (captions: automatic)
• How to give your first speech — Eliana Edith — a club member's own five-minute icebreaker: a playful hook about what she does for a living, her move to New York with her young daughter, one detail with a point about the job that led to her own business, and a closing line built on her business's name; map it onto the course's four beats of hook, who you are, one detail with a point, and close. (video, 5 min) (captions: creator)

Optional one-stop reference (free online reference)

• Credo for Ethical Communication — National Communication Association — the short statement of principles this course uses as its ethics anchor; read the opening and the principles, and keep it handy all course, since every later speech is held to it. (reading, 4–6 min)

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell your instructor and use the reference above in the meantime.

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